Fixing the “We are unable to connect right now” error

I get this error a few times a day for my users on Outlook 365, the cloud. They have to restart Outlook before it works again.

Microsoft Outlook isn’t working on Windows 10 and 11 computers anymore. This tutorial explains how to troubleshoot and fix the issue.

Microsoft Outlook will not connect when you launch the application on a Windows computer, so you should check your network and try again later.

The following steps will help you if your system keeps asking you for your password every time you restart or startup, stating “We are unable to connect right now. Please check your network and try again later”.

Outlook can display an error message “We are unable to connect right now” if the Outlook application on your PC cannot communicate with the Microsoft Exchange Server. This will prevent you from activating Outlook or sending and receiving email through Outlook. It can lead to a lot of inconveniences.

Start Outlook and check the internet connection after restarting your system. If the issue persists, restart your computer again.

If you are trying to run the Microsoft Outlook application on Windows 10 computer but suddenly you see an error message box that says “We can’t connect right now, please check your network and try again later”, then read on as this will help you to fix the error.

What is the cause of the “We can’t connect right now” error

Outlook We Are Unable To Connect Right Now

However, even though this error appears in Office, it is an issue with Windows. It could be caused by a misconfigured VPN, an incorrectly configured web proxy intercepting or blocking traffic, or restrictive location awareness settings that cause Windows to think it has “Limited Internet” or “No Internet.”

Outlook Is Not Connecting To Server

Following are the steps for connecting the Microsoft Exchange server using SSL:

Whenever you conduct a search in Outlook, you may receive messages stating that there are no matches or that the search result is incomplete because the item is still being indexed. If you discover that your outlook inbox does not show all the emails, then indexing functions need to be fixed. By rebuilding Outlook indexes and updating index locations and features, you can fix Indexing Errors.

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This type of error in Microsoft Outlook can be caused by problems with your internet connection or VPN software if you are using it. If you are using a VPN, this could be the reason why you are getting the “We can’t connect right now” error message. Please check your network and try again later.”

The only way to fix this is to disable the VPN and rerun the Windows update. Also, if you’re using VPN software that works with their software, you can simply log out of their account or shut the VPN down completely. You can, however, disable or delete the VPN built into Windows 10 if you’re using it.

There is also the possibility that the data file on your PC is corrupted, which may lead to the error “We are unable to connect right now” in Outlook. Rebuilding your Microsoft Outlook data file can address this issue.

You may also need to find and disable or remove a corrupt add-on if the problem is caused by it.

Outlook Disconnected From Server

If that’s the case, you’ll see an indication in Outlook’s lower status bar that your mail provider or Exchange server has been disconnected.

A message appears when you attempt to launch Microsoft Outlook: We are unable to connect at this time. Please check your network and let us know if you are able to connect.

The error may be caused by a variety of factors, including an Internet connection issue or a change in your browser.

Fix the “We can’t log in right now” error

Resetting your password

1. In the Run dialog box, enter netplwiz in the void field after pressing Victory and R together.
2. To edit the Properties of the Administrator/Microsoft account, click in the User Accounts window.
3. Enter a new password to confirm your new password and click on Reset Password again.
4. Your changes will be saved when you click OK, then you will need to restart your computer.
5. The new password must be entered on the login screen after the computer has restarted.
6. Step 1 and 2 should now be repeated again, and the password should be disabled. Click OK to save your changes.
7. When your computer boots normally, you will no longer see the error message “Can’t connect right now”.

Change your username and password

1. To begin, you’ll need a Microsoft account.
2. You can check your system’s functionality by clicking on the Device tab.
3. In the text box of Cortana, enter “netplwiz”.
4. The default setting on the User Account page is to require users to enter a username and password. Uncheck the box (by default, it is checked).
5. Logging in to your personal account will take you to a pop-up window asking for your Microsoft password.
6. In order to save your changes, restart your Windows 10 device after clicking Apply and OK.
7. You will be able to access the login window after rebooting your computer.
8. The previous user will have to log in again to netplwiz (user account) and activate their account. The current user will then be able to access their PC by entering their username and password at the top and clicking OK.

Frequently Asked Questions